Hamburger Buddy

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast—it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Total comfort food! I've made this dish several times now. My partner actually requests it!
My modifications were based upon many suggested by other reviewers: Chop and shred your veggies for the texture, splash of red wine added...

154 Reviews for Hamburger Buddy

08/06/2012

Anonymous

Recommends this recipe

Great Family Friendly..with just one adjustment

My family just laps this stuff up. My husband often had the box stuff growing up-which I refuse to serve. He thinks this recipe is great. My son thinks it's wonderful. As with any dish of this type, it's even better the second day. ONE big adjustment-if you love thyme addthe 2 tsp, if you think thyme is okay, add less than 1 tsp. It can overpower this dish

I followed the recipe except I used turkey and added extra carrots and mushrooms. I used whole wheat pasta which changed the cook time a bit. The sauce was plenty thick. I found the seasoning just right for little ones. My husband and I always add more pepper to our own plates. Next time I'll throw in some peas. Thanks for a family friendly meal that is healthy.

100 comments

As a 25 year old single male on a mission to eat healthier, I decided to give this recipe a try based upon other reviews.

I'll be the first to say I am a cook-in-progress, but this was pretty simple to make. The ingredients are all easy to find and relatively affordable. As prepared, this makes six huge portions, so this will definitely be great for family's on a budget (or twenty-somethings with bills like me!).

My main problem is that it is incredibly bland as prepared. The thyme overpowered during cooking (to the point my roommate said it smelled awful), and even though this dish has plenty of veggies, the thyme was too much even when I was eating it. DEFINITELY cut back or omit the thyme.

As others recommended, I would highly encourage you to make substitutions. Use all low-sodium beef broth instead of water. I like to use Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream to save on calories. I'd also recommend adding some tomato paste for flavor, as well as some seasonings of your choice - I made a second batch later on it and it was MUCH better doing this and with a bit more Worcestershire sauce, as the "sauce" as prepared is pretty thin. I also drained the meat, which it didn't mention to do.

So, while I was REALLY disappointed with how bland and flavorless this was the first time I made it - if you're willing to make a few healthy substitutions, this will be a relatively inexpensive meal that will feed a lot of mouths and taste good at the same time.

Great recipe. I reduced the ground beef to 3/4 lb, replaced the sour cream with hummus for thickness and extra fiber and added peas. The fiancee, who hates vegetables, LOVED it. Will definitely make again.

Was looking for a kid-friendly one skillet meal that had some hidden veggies. I think the large amount of dried thyme was a mistake in this recipe - it overwhelms all other flavors. Next time I might try adding tomato paste and a little paprika as some other users suggested. Hopefully I might still be able to doctor up the leftovers!